BENGALURU: Ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls, Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shivakumar have separately claimed that some BJP leaders are ready to join Congress, setting off a debate over defections with the ruling BJP. But both refused to reveal the names of the BJP leaders who want to join Congress.
However, reacting strongly, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel asserted that no one from BJP will quit and said that the Congress leaders’ claims stem from insecurity regarding the party in Karnataka.
Responding to Shivakumar’s claims, Bommai said, “Two top leaders of the Congress are issuing statements with tall claims that some BJP leaders are on their side. There is no question of any one from BJP jumping ship. You will see the effects of all these developments soon. Just wait and watch. BJP will gain strength in the coming days.”
“Many leaders in Karnataka are ready to join the BJP as the Congress has no future. The five states, which are going to polls, will reject the Congress. Frightened, Congress leaders have been trying to create a confusion to divert the attention of the people. No one from BJP in Karnataka is going to quit the party,” stressed Kateel, while speaking at the party office in Bengaluru.
Meanwhile, he warned the party leaders including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and M P Renukacharya against discussing party’s issues before the media. Yatnal, in a statement, had said that those MLAs who defected to the BJP to help B S Yediyurappa form the government are likely to return to the Congress, triggering controversy.